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Preliminary injunction served its purpose
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Posted on Dec 10 2013
The preliminary injunction I filed in the District Court served its purpose.
The purpose of my preliminary injunction is to prevent Eloy Inos from avoiding to pay pension to retirees who opted out. He was very firm in his position that “if [retirees] don’t want to join the settlement, there is nothing [he] can do. [He] cannot guarantee payment even if they decide to go to Finance to demand their checks. They are not going to get a check. They can’t. They won’t.”
When opt out retirees were not paid their pension on Oct. 15, 2013, I immediately file a constitutional violation lawsuit and a preliminary injunction. Lo and behold! Eloy Inos wrote to the NMI Retirement Fund directing the Fund to pay opt-out retirees 75 percent of their pension. It took my preliminary injunction to force Eloy Inos to come to his senses not to ignore us 16 opt-out retirees.
All opt-out retirees are now assured that we will continue receiving our pension and health insurance coverage as stipulated by the District Court that “…all evidence before the court indicates that [opt-out retirees] will continue to receive 75 percent of [their] pension payments and full health insurance coverage. …The present possibility of the Commonwealth later electing to not pay [opt-out retirees] any retirement benefits is not likely.” It took for my preliminary injunction for Eloy Inos to pay opt-out retirees. Now the District Court finds it not necessary to approve my preliminary injunction.
All that remains now is for the District Court to ascertain if it is a constitutional violation to diminish and impair retirees’ pension. The court is the only proper venue to ascertain whether or not one’s constitutional right is being violated. I strongly believe that a diminution in our pension is a violation of our NMI Constitution, Article 3, Section 20a.
I hope Eloy Inos follows his boss (Governor Fitial) that he prefers to mediate than to litigate to avoid wasting taxpayer’s money defending their indefensible acts. God bless us all.
[B]Jesus I. Taisague[/B] [I]Koblerville, Saipan[/I]
